We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments • Hacker News Board

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#311

Post by crazygringo » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:30 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #159

Caretaker: The redfin of brokers. Take all the value for themselves freeze out the brokers (who provide a service but are universally disdained). Ride that wave of positive news for a couples years. Eventually everyone will hate the fraction of the market Caretaker has as they raise prices to make investors happy and people realize there are problems. It's like the same idea of Uber and Lyft. Less human involvement =…

> Less human involvement = better world /S

...why sarcasm?

The entire premise of technological and economic progress is outsourcing repetitive mind-numbing tasks (whether farming or showing apartments) to automation.

You're just describing regular old beneficial economic progress -- the reason why we're not all still farmers.

And if Caretaker becomes a massive success, then competitors will appear, which is the basic economic force that prevents prices from rising too far. All of which would be wonderful.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#312

Post by gentleman11 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:31 PM UTC

bko wrote: post #285

TeMPOraL wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. On average, in certain locations. In others, not so much. And let's not forget surge pricing. Or people living, or wanting to get to a place, along low-profit routes. Or people with disabilities. > more predictable with pricing Depends. Regular taxis tended to cost a bit more, but had much lower variance. > Uber drivers mak…

> On average, in certain locations. In others, not so much. And let's not forget surge pricing. Or people living, or wanting to get to a place, along low-profit routes. Or people with disabilities. You can always take a regular cab. Low profit routes were pretty much impossible to get pre-Uber. I am almost certain that Uber is more likely to obey disability laws than "Joe's taxi" with a few cars. > Depends. Regular t…

The purpose of the medallions, in theory, is to improve the chances that the average cab driver can make a living wage. Can the average Uber driver live a middle class income from this “gig”?

> When accounting for the ride-sharing company’s commissions and fees, vehicle expenses and a modest health insurance package, Uber drivers end up earning just $9.21 in hourly wages, according to a new study from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-how-much-uber-driv...

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#313

Post by kanzenryu2 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:31 PM UTC

handmodel wrote: post #206

boringg wrote: post #159

Caretaker: The redfin of brokers. Take all the value for themselves freeze out the brokers (who provide a service but are universally disdained). Ride that wave of positive news for a couples years. Eventually everyone will hate the fraction of the market Caretaker has as they raise prices to make investors happy and people realize there are problems. It's like the same idea of Uber and Lyft. Less human involvement =…

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

Maybe ask female employees of Uber if they agree with that

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#314

Post by NikolaNovak » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:32 PM UTC

handmodel wrote: post #206

boringg wrote: post #159

Caretaker: The redfin of brokers. Take all the value for themselves freeze out the brokers (who provide a service but are universally disdained). Ride that wave of positive news for a couples years. Eventually everyone will hate the fraction of the market Caretaker has as they raise prices to make investors happy and people realize there are problems. It's like the same idea of Uber and Lyft. Less human involvement =…

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

>>> Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today.

Hmmm, That must depend on the market as it's not necessarily the case based on discussions I had with both in Ottawa.

(note, when Uber first started, that was the perceived story - almost "free money!" for bored white collar workers with a car and few hours to spare here and there. I've had people in $50k, $60k cars drive me around, to "meet new people and have fun". However, once full-time professionals joined the ranks, and did math on maintenance and insurance and fuel etc, the story RAPIDLY changed).

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#315

Post by gentleman11 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:34 PM UTC

handmodel wrote: post #206

boringg wrote: post #159

Caretaker: The redfin of brokers. Take all the value for themselves freeze out the brokers (who provide a service but are universally disdained). Ride that wave of positive news for a couples years. Eventually everyone will hate the fraction of the market Caretaker has as they raise prices to make investors happy and people realize there are problems. It's like the same idea of Uber and Lyft. Less human involvement =…

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

> It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride

Due to a decade of massive losses. This isn’t their real long term cost. It is a scam to make people think it’s cheaper and run normal taxis out of business

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#316

Post by netrus » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:37 PM UTC

e12e wrote: post #201

tut-urut-utut wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The assumption that software can solve this problem is simply wrong. It's the regulation change that needs to happen if you don't want that renter pay the broker "services". For example, a new law in Germany to apply the "who hires pays" principle for brokers in the renting market basically made the renting "broker fee free" for renters. Previously, the landlords would hire a broker that needed to be paid by the rent…

> "who hires pays" principle for brokers in the renting market basically made the renting "broker fee free" for renters. How can that work? Landlord (absent regulation) set the rents as high as they want/can get away with. What's the difference between 100/month rent + 50/month broker fee, and 150/month rent + "zero"/month broker fee?

In Germany, the broker fee is a one time payment. That makes for an complicated calculation, as rentals are usually not fixed-term, and people will expect to stay for several years or decades. Is 900 EUR per month + 1,800 Euro one time payment better or worse than 1,000 Euro per month without a broker fee? Most people do not think like that. 900 Of course, the real problem was that the landlords did not both to negotiate the brokers fee. There was a maximum broker fee defined by law, and everyone just charged the maximum. Not anymore!

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#317

Post by dfsegoat » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:39 PM UTC

gfxgirl wrote: post #229

handmodel wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

It is NOT cheaper in SF. 2 miles costs at least $20 and can be as high as $40. I don't think I've been anywhere in the world where prices are that high for taxis and there are plenty of places in the world where taxis are plentiful. I'm happy the services exist but they are not cheap, at least not here.

> It is NOT cheaper in SF. 2 miles costs at least $20 and can be as high as $40

Can confirm. Arrived at SFO late the other night (1130pm-ish) and Uber wanted $80 to take me from Passenger pickup, to my longterm parking lot which was probably 3 miles away.

I ended up taking a Taxi for $12 + tip.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#318

Post by gentleman11 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:39 PM UTC

AJRF wrote: post #302

I recently moved house. I was previously living with my friend, and we had an agreement I pay sometime before the end of the month. He gave me a contract and said you'll need this, just because when you go to the next place they will ask you for your previous contract. He found it online, it was boiler plate and we agreed verbally I pay him whenever during the month. We we're really good friends, and I lived there fo…

All my online dashboards I deal with for various things are buggy and inflexible. Whatever the problem is though, you can usually phone a human who can fix it. If you get rid of humans, it’s just creating a nightmare

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#319

Post by handmodel » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:40 PM UTC

NikolaNovak wrote: post #314

handmodel wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

>>> Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. Hmmm, That must depend on the market as it's not necessarily the case based on discussions I had with both in Ottawa. (note, when Uber first started, that was the perceived story - almost "free money!" for bored white collar workers with a car and few hours to spare here and there. I've had people in $50k, $60k cars drive me around, to "mee…

I guess I'm skeptical that taxi driver who takes on less rides is making more money after the cut they give to their company. Or, if you were starting an independent taxi service that you'd make more money taking your own calls and doing your own maintenance anyway.

I'm not surprised its gone down - probably a sign that it used to be very profitable even if not as much so now. I do know plenty of people that can repair cars themselves (one of whom has been uber driving foe years) so perhaps it will only work out for those people. Which seems like a 100% decent outcome.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#320

Post by coryrc » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:41 PM UTC

woodruffw wrote: post #236

handmodel wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber and Lyft are 100% a win though. - It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. It is safer, more predictable with timing, and more predictable with pricing. - Uber drivers make more money today than taxi drivers used to/or do today. There are also way more job openings in this than there used to be, with less friction to get involved. The world is not a zero sum ga…

Neither of these things is true in NYC: cabs charge a fixed rate to the area airports (Uber is at least twice that rate), and hack drivers have historically made reasonable money. Most of them have lost that stability, as well as (in some instances) their life savings due to the medallion crash.

Drivers are often not medallion owner.